


Try and Try Again

by insertfruitpun



Series: Valentine's Day fics [3]
Category: The Witchlands Series - Susan Dennard
Genre: Confessions, F/M, Fluff, aeduan is an awkward racoon, casual gretchya hate, safi is a good friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:34:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29309664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/insertfruitpun/pseuds/insertfruitpun
Summary: A short love confession + Safi being a great friend
Relationships: Aeduan/Iseult det Midenzi, Iseult det Midenzi & Safiya fon Hasstrel
Series: Valentine's Day fics [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2149077
Comments: 11
Kudos: 5





	Try and Try Again

Aeduan felt stupid.

He could only imagine what his father would have to say about the time, first minutes, then hours, that Aeduan spent talking in front of the mirror that day.

And then again tomorrow.

And again. 

Words just didn't come naturally to him. Not good words, anyway. And Iseult deserved only the best, which meant that this confession needed to be perfect.

Aeduan was slowly mastering it. He could get a casual hello out without sounding pathetic, and that was progress. 

He could imagine the disappointment that his father would surely feel. But Ragnor didn't matter anymore. He got what he deserved.

And now it was Aeduan's turn to ruin his life, with papers full of discarded speeches and hours spent with no discernible progress.

He could imagine how delighted Lizl would be to hear she was better at yet another thing. As much as Aeduan hated to admit it, she was a master at getting her point across.

And the latest paragraph Aeduan wrote down was like a ridiculously long prelude to what he wanted to say. It didn't work, and he couldn't possibly say any of that to Iseult.

Yet another ripped paper. Now Aeduan could imagine the way Lizl would laugh at him.

If he ever deserved it, it was now. 

He didn't even know if Iseult would appreciate what he said. Everything he was doing was most likely pointless. Surely her friends would disapprove. Aeduan didn't think he could ever be more important to her than her threadfamily was. That was one delusion he forbid himself from ever having. 

And if Iseult's threadsister was just playing nice to please her, well, that was already more than Aeduan expected. She'd been strangely civil these past few days, only calling him a monster once. And then it was a joke, Iseult said. Aeduan wasn't so sure.

If Safiya reacted badly, there was no way Iseult was going to even be his friend anymore. 

One thing he couldn't imagine, though, was Iseult's own reaction. Which was the only thing that actually mattered.

Will she be disgusted that he'd even suggest such a thing? Or will she be happy to hear how he feels?

Aeduan didn't entertain either thought. He'd just have to wait and see for himself. And until then, he could only prepare.

And prepare he did, yet he never felt ready. Evrane always said that a man could never plan too much ahead, but this felt like it. Still, there wasn't anything else that Aeduan could do.

These days, whenever he saw Iseult, it was among other people. He missed their journey, with all its troubles and shortcomings, only because it was just them.

Well, Owl was there too, but...that was different. She wasn't always tense around Aeduan, acting like she was going to bite his head off if he even looked at her wrong.

He was used to it. Being a Bloodwitch wasn't exactly a wanted position. People's attitudes towards him were rarely ever pleasant.

But Owl didn't mind, and neither did Iseult. And Blueberry...well, Blueberry liked whatever Owl liked. 

In such a short time, Aeduan got used to acceptance. And it wasn't that his new allies hated him, but they were understandable wary. 

In another time, Aeduan would have liked being seen as a threat. But that was before he knew what it was like to be seen as something else.

"You will never guess what I heard your Bloodwitch doing!"

Iseult rolled her eyes, half at the story that was coming, and half at the way Safi referred to Aeduan. It didn't make Iseult feel uncomfortable, but it made her feel... Something.

Which was ridiculous, because that was just the way Safi spoke. Iseult never minded it when she talked about "your demon child" (Iseult was surprised st her initial urge to defend Owl when Safi first said it) and "your mountain bat" (which came after Iseult had to pet Blueberry once because Owl insisted). 

But whenever Safi would say "your Bloodwitch", it wasn't ever a typical conversation. No, when Safi was annoyed at him or something hilarious involving him happened, he was just the Bloodwitch. It was only when Iseult was somehow involved in the story that Safi referred to him like that, and she didn't know how she felt about it.

Safi sat down. "Okay, so," she started, laughing, "I walked by his room, fully intending to just pass by it." They both knew she didn't. Safi enjoyed having embarrassing stories to tell, and Aeduan was her newest target. "when I heard him talking about you."

Iseult had to fight the curiosity. She knew how delighted Safi would be if she asked what he said and if it was good or bad, and Iseult wasn't going to give her threadsister that kind of satisfaction before she knew how the story ended.

"With whom?" she finally asked, finding a neutral question.

"That's the thing! He made it sound like he was talking to you, but he kept talking and you didn't respond so I just had to check, and he was just standing in front of the mirror." Safi laughed through her words. 

And once she got over the initial shock, Iseult could admit that it was pretty funny. But... "What was he saying?"

"At first he was just rambling about a nice day." It took all of Iseult's willpower not to laugh. The whole week was going to be rainy, everyone could tell. "But then he started with the most awkward compliments. It was so funny, Iz, you should've been there. Though you'll probably hear it eventually."

"A-are you certain all that was about me?" 

"He said your name, so yes. I know you're friends and everything, but I can't wait to see how you reject him." Safi kept going. "I mean, you've been trying so hard to get me and everyone else to be polite to him. It'll be so funny to see you try to get out of that while still remaining nice."

Perhaps that would be funny. The only problem was that Iseult didn't want to get out of it. And Safi saw that.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" And then, a moment later, "Iz! You're not seriously considering it, are you?"

"You always said feelings make us unwise." Actually, Safi had only said it once, when arguing with Habim about something or other. But she thought it was really clever and bragged about her phrasing for days after.

"You don't have to be wise, Iseult, but you don't have to be so awfully stupid, either! He ruined our lives."

"And he saved mine repeatedly," Iseult said. They'd had that conversation once before already, and it ended with Safi agreeing to be civil

Iseult didn't know if her threadsister was going to agree with her this time. 

But she did. Safi took her hands and looked in her eyes. "Look, I don't want to sound like your mother-"

"What's wrong with that?"

"It would be easier to list what was good about it," Safi muttered, "which is absolutely nothing." Iseult rolled her eyes, but she didn't correct her. "I just want you to be sure that this would be good for you, and if you ever regret it, I will only say I Told You So after a month, when the situation has absolutely calmed down."

Iseult laughed. "Thank you."

It had taken Aeduan another two days to walk up to her. He spent most of his time with Owl and Blueberry, and if Safi didn't tell her what she told her, Iseult would think he was avoiding her.

He absolutely was, but it wasn't for a bad reason. 

And Iseult found that she could live with that. She smiled as soon as she saw him. Things like that were usually reserved for Safi only, and Iseult tried to stop.

But then Aeduan asked if she had time to talk, and once he opened his mouth, Iseult was unable to get the smile off her face.

She knew how the conversation would end. She had for a couple of days already. But she was only human after all, and interrupting Aeduan would be just rude.

So Iseult listened to compliment after compliment, smiling even as Aeduan backtracked and corrected himself. She let him try over and over again. After all, they had all the time in the world.

**Author's Note:**

> The self control it took to write awfully instead of fucking should be appreciated, actually


End file.
